


Second Chance

by Lightning5



Series: First Kisses [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drabble, F/M, Transferred from Tumblr, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 20:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2786366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning5/pseuds/Lightning5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She waited for him to say or <em>do</em> something. He seemed content to just have her close but Madge craved more."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chance

"Get your shit together, Thom!" Madge sighed dramatically as Katniss managed to make _another_ shot into their dwindling array of cups.

They were attending a kickback hosted by the one and only Finnick Odair. The senior was currently lounging on the wooden swing with junior Annie Cresta and conversing with several others while Madge was forced to play beer bong with Thom.

Madge handed the cup to her terrible partner, who jokingly grimaced before gulping the beer.

Why did she agree to play beer pong against Katniss and Peeta? Oh that’s right, because she’s the greatest best friend out of all best friends. Katniss _so_ owed her.

For Madge, the only good thing to come from this was the fact that it would be ending in a few seconds because she really needed the bathroom.

"I’m trying," Thom slurred, closing one eye to take aim across the table to her least favorite couple at the moment. Katniss looked on with amusement as Peeta, bravely in Madge’s view, wrapped his arm around Katniss’s waist. Madge raised her eyebrows at her best friend, who gave a small shrug.

"Fuck!" Thom yelled, as he missed.

"Alright! I’m done!" Madge said in surrender. "Let the next team kick your asses."

Peeta chuckled, unwinding his arm from Katniss to reset the table. Madge could have sworn she saw a flash of disappointment from Katniss, but then again she was buzzed.

"Maybe you need a better partner?" Peeta suggested, filling the cups with _Budlite_.

"I had a partner, but _someone_ took her away from me,” Madge said, narrowing her eyes at him. Peeta blushed and avoided making eye contact, causing Madge to laugh before standing shoulder to shoulder next to said partner.

Katniss looked over. “You good?”

"Yup. Just gonna go to the bathroom."

"Well, you did drink a lot," Katniss quipped.

Madge bumped her shoulder and nodded to Peeta, who was bending at the waist to pull several cans of beer from the box. “You abandoned me for that tight ass.”

"Madge!" Katniss blushed. "Shut up."

Madge giggled. “Oh we are so having a talk. Later though. I really have to go,” she added, running toward the house before Katniss could say that she would go with her.

After doing her business, Madge stepped out of the bathroom and decide to grab her lip gloss from her purse which was in Finnick’s room along with the others’ personal belongings. Entering the room, Madge noticed the sliding glass door leading to the small balcony was opened. Thinking nothing of it, she rummaged through her purse.

"Ah-ha! Finally," Madge whispered, pulling the tube of lip gloss from the depths of the bag. Just as she was about to apply it, someone cleared their throat somewhere behind her, making her jump and toss her lip gloss across the room. She quickly, hand pressed against her chest to find—

"Damnit, Gale! Why did you do that?" Madge demanded.

Standing on the threshold of the sliding glass door was Gale Hawthorne, looking a little too proud for Madge’s liking.

"It was more fun that way I guess," he shrugged.

Heart still racing, Madge shook her head. “So, what are you doing? Brooding?”

He scoffed, stepping back onto the balcony. “I don’t brood.”

"Yes, yes you do," Madge replied, following him.

The balcony itself was small, with enough room to put one wicker chair with cushions and a small glass table in the corner. Gale leaned against the edge while looking out to the backyard. Madge joined him and mimicked his position.

"So why are you up here?" she asked.

"Just thinking about things."

She watched as Gale pulled out a cigarette. “You’re not smoking in front of me, Gale Hawthorne.”

He faced her slightly, still leaning against the wall and giving her that stupid smile that got her heart racing. He held the cigarette between his index finger and thumb. “Take it then.”

 _Don’t do it,_ she thought, crossing her arms. _It’s a trap! He’s the trap! A good-looking trap!_

"No," she said, staring back defiantly.

"No?"

When Madge repeated her answer, he shrugged and proceeded to break the cigarette in half.

"I wasn’t going to smoke it," he said, sitting in the wicker chair and depositing the broken cigarette on a small plate. "Darius gave it to me. I didn’t want it."

Madge nodded, tightening her arms around her body to mask how cold she became. Her jacket was downstairs but she didn’t want to go down yet. She looked toward the beer pong table below to find that Katniss and Peeta were still dominating while the losing team of Finnick and Annie looked on in amazement. She shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes. She turned toward Gale to find his eyes on _her_.

"You were keeping an eye of Katniss," she stated, a grin spreading on her face. "Oh look at you being all _protective_.”

Channeling Peeta’s braveness from earlier, Madge stepped in front of Gale. He only looked slightly shame-faced as she looked down on him.

"She’s a big girl now Gale," Madge said quietly even though it was just the two of them.

"I know," he groaned. "She’s my cousin so excuse me if I worry from time to time."

"It’s kinda sweet. If that makes you feel better."

He chuckled. “It does, I guess.”

Being near him was causing all sorts of reactions from Madge that she didn’t know what to do. They stared at each other for a few moments before Gale tugged her just a little closer so she was between his legs, his hands pressed against the small of her back while her own were on his shoulders.

"Is this okay?" he asked, staring up at her.

 _More than okay._ “Yeah,” she breathed.

She waited for him to say or _do_ something. He seemed content to just have her close but Madge craved more. What felt like a lifetime, Gale spoke.

"Those things I was thinking about?" She nodded in understanding, unconsciously moving her hands back and forth from his shoulders to his neck. "I was thinking of you."

She stopped what she was doing as her heart raced. “Me?”

"Yeah. I…uh. What I wanted to say…is that I-I like you. I mean, I have for a while, but I just didn’t know how to tell you without sounding like a creep. You know, ‘cause your Katniss’s best friend and yeah," he rushed, looking down bashfully . "I figured I’d tell you tonight but then I saw you with Thom—"

"We were just playing beer pong," Madge interrupted, momentarily forgetting that Gale just confessed to liking her.

_Wait—he likes me! Holy shit!_

They’ve known each other for years, since they were kids really. Madge didn’t think about Gale that way until this year when she found herself staring at him as he wiped his grease-stained face with the bottom hem of his tank top, while working on his car in the Everdeen garage during one of the hot days of summer. She couldn’t help but blush at the memory.

"Yeah, I know that, but still," he trailed off, squeezing her for a second. It was enough for Madge to feel like she was on fire and Gale didn’t help one bit with his gray eyes, one of the many things that frustrates Madge to no end. And he wasn’t going to make a move, then she would gladly do it.

Gripping his shoulders, Madge settled into his lap, so her back rested against the arm of the chair. She watched as Gale took several deep breaths with his attention focused on her lips, his arms tightening around her waist, burning her.

"Is this okay?" she whispered teasingly. She placed her right arm around his back, while her left played with the hair on the nape of his neck.

He gave a small chuckle as he rolled his eyes at Madge, who beamed. Without hesitation, she gave him a quick kiss. She couldn’t help but laugh at Gale’s baffled expression.

"That’s it?"

"No, that’s payback for when we were kids."

Gale looked confused before it dawned on him. “I kissed you when you gave me that strawberry. I thought you were going to tell on me!”

"You begged me not too," Madge giggled. "I should have. You stole my first kiss."

"I can make it up to you," he suggested.

"Please."

Gale nodded, his eyes returning to her lips. Madge mimicked him, but as he leaned in more, she closed her eyes, feeling his lips pressed against hers. After several closed mouth kisses, she pulled his bottom lip between her own, causing him to groan and pull her torso against his own. Their tongues met and she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her mouth. They broke a part a few minutes later, taking deep breaths as though they had just ran a marathon.

"Better?" Gale panted, his hands rubbing her back through her shirt.

 _No shit._ Madge shook her head. “No, uh. You’re going to have to try again.”


End file.
